Racer X is an uncommon Double India Pale Ale which puts a California twist on English brewing traditions by adding an assertive hop aroma and bitterness that compliments the firm malt backbone. Like its little brother Racer 5, Racer X is balance in a bottle.

M: Smooth and creamy - a coating, fusel warmth. Bitter to the brink of being pungent, then tapering to a pleasing malt/hop balance. Medium mouthfeel and moderate carbonation.

D: A harsh/bitter DIPA, but still one worth grabbing. Has a fine balance, drinkable and full of flavor that makes me want another, even though the style is not a favorite of mine. Hard to find, definitely worth grabbing if found... (830 characters)

It pours a clear orange amber color with a full finger, fairly stiff, off white head that settles to surface. A sticky lace follows in its wake. The smell reveals a classic DIPA; sweet malty goodness and floral pine, grapefruit combination. Full bodied, the mouth feel is conditioned by the hops and carbonation. The creamy texture complements the sweet malty aspect of the flavor nicely. The flavor is close to the smell; classic pine-grapefruit hops and a balanced malty sweetness. A wonderful drinker, the 9% ABV is hidden well. I dismissed being ripped off on my growler fill from Consumers - Orchard Park. It took forever due to violent foaming out of the hose, but I now regret that I wasnt more patient. Id rather be enjoying that absent glassful. (758 characters)

Poured into a goblet, appeared to be a reddish brown, big white head, and was fairly clear though somewhat murky. This was, as far as double IPA's go, not as thick or syrupy as others, which is good in my opinion, but still packed with plenty of flavor. The hops stand out as you would expect and the bitterness is short lived after it is taken over by some of the malt sweetness. One of the best doulbe IPA's for sure. (419 characters)

Pours a hazy, dark orange with enormous, creamy off-white head that sticks like spackle to the glass. I swear, I can still feel the head in y stomach. Good ol' California IPA hop goodness aroma smacks your nose and gets the taste buds worked up. Grapefruit, pine, yadda yadda yadda. Flavors are to die for. Not too thick like a lot of IIPA's are and is actually refreshing and crisp. This is a dangerous beer for the alcohol! Is it in there? I don't know. Right up there with Dreadnaught, DFH 90 Minute and Big Eddy IIPA. (521 characters)

On tap at the growler station at Consumers in Orchard Park,poured into an imperial pint glass a clear burnt orange with a tight formed pillowey white head that left globs of lace as it settled into a creamy mass.Oh blessed hops in the nose intense resiny pine and grapefruit rind with a light but noticeable nutty malt component underneath very fresh smelling.A real hop gem here very resiny concentrated hop presence pine and more pine with a real nutty malt base that hangs kinda well,not as full in the mouth as I would have thought but it adds to the drinkability wich makes it dangerous.Whoa this good and its what I expected.

As I drank more and the beer warmed a bit a noticeable dark fruit presence became more pronounced adding to the complexity and stickiness and well I have to give it a five because there is so much there going on. (847 characters)

Taste: There are distinct stages to this beer. A smooth, creamy beginning with some toasted malt gives way a juicy, lemon and grapefruit sweet hop flavor. A drawn-out finish finally turns up the piney, resiny hop bitterness with a pucker-worthy aftertaste. Little to no alcohol burn.

Very moreish and well-rounded (within the style of course).... good drinkability. (539 characters)

Boo-yah! Killer beer. Poured with a great, foamy, frothy, light tan head. Lots of lace. Head subsided to light cover after a bit and lasted to the bottom o' the glass. Color's an amber honey. Tad hazy. Nice hop nose of pine with a little bread, citrus, and malt. Good body with just right carbonation. A little chewy. Very long hop finish that's complimented with a little sweetness. Good hop burps too. (403 characters)

On tap poured into a pint glass. Amber-orange with some hop-haze, 1/4" white bubbly foam and some lace set the mood. Good carbonation with sporatic bubbles rising.

The smell is strong of sweet, piney floral hops with an underlying biscuity malt and some earthyness.

The taste starts with a short-lived sweet biscuity malt, followed by some serious pine sap. As the pine slowly fades, the brew turns to a fruity citrus of grapefruit domination, slightly fading with some metallic soil and a bit-o-black tea to the finish. An awesome DIPA by any standards...and did I mention strong? At 9%ABV, you best go easy on this one!

Too easy to drink with that sneaky alcohol just waiting to catch you off-guard...a great brew! (725 characters)

Just tapped at Beachwood BBQ. Boy was I in for a treat! When I arrived Alesmith Nut Brown was still on tap (and nothing wrong with that - it's one of the best English browns around). About 30 minutes in, a party ordered a pitcher of it. Not a quarter of the way through and it tapped out. So, the question then becomes "tap the Racer X or the Gonzo Imperial Porter?" Seeing as how I had had the Gonzo (and liked it), but had only heard great things about the Racer X, I happily offered my opinion on the matter. This, of course, led to my having a couple more pints than expected...

A: Beautiful copper color with a delicious fluffy off-white head that never died.

S: Mmmm, smells of piny hops and delicious malts. I can't imagine an IPA smelling much better than this.

T: You thought the smell was good? The taste is even better. Perfect in every way. Delicious, floral hops at the forefront. Piny more than citrusy. Middle is nice and sweeter - kind of a raw sugar sweetness (in a very good way). Finishes nice and hoppy, with a good amount of bitterness. I must say though, the balance is more like a Pliny the Elder than a Hopsickle, and that makes for an incredibly drinkable double IPA. In fact, for 9%, this is incredible.

D: I had 2 and a half pints, and I'll be going back for more as soon as possible. That should sum it up well enough.

Highly recommended. I've had a lot of double IPAs. This one is honestly one of my favorites. I have to say the craftsmanship on this one is absolutely phenomenal. If you ever see this one on tap, get yourself a pint - you won't regret it! (1,688 characters)

A- dark amber with golden orange hues, little white head that doesn't stick around long at all, but what a beautiful color

S- holy hops, grapefruit, piney

T- decieving maltiness up front for a flash before the hops come in like a jack hammer to your pallete, pine, grapefruit, citric hops running wild in here, not puckering bitter but pallete numbing. alcohol well hidden for how much is in here, 10.5%. I would of never guessed

M- medium body, dry finish, slight warming from alcohol

D- to high ABV% to be sessionable but im sure someone will try (and regret it when they wake up from their coma), alcohol well hidden, awesome 2IPA, definetly recommend, though the color is really the only thing that really stands out from the rest of the top 2IPA's. (818 characters)

Re-review. Original is below, and one of the first beers I ever reviewed. Obvious when you read it...

Anyways, I was very pleased to see this on tap at the local Alehouse!

Pours a nice dark orange/amber color with a nice white head.

Aromas are wonderful, dank, resiny hops, with a sugary maltiness, and a blast of more hops, there is citrus, mostly of apricots and oranges.

Taste is sticky, sweet, and dank up front. Beer then settles into some creamy caramel malt flavors. Finish is pine like, with sweet and bitter citrus flavors.

Mouthfeel is excellent. Very nice full smooth body, with spot on carbonation.

Drinkability is great. This is a top notch DIPA, as good as I remember. My original ranking of 4.9 was a little misguided, but my second seating with this one showed me that this is still a superb example of the style.

---A knock you on your a$$ beer. Boy... this is easily one of my favorite beers, let alone IPAs. I have only seen this at the brewery, and just had one there a few months ago. Has a great hop aroma and flavor. It has that piney fruity smell/taste of fresh hops through and through. A very tasty beer for sure. (1,147 characters)

Racer X
A great offering from Bear Republic!
The appearance of this beer is a sunset amber. A light layer of foam. The smell of this double is of sweet fresh hops. Definately a fresh keg and highly hopped beer. The taste is pretty balanced, a slight burn from the high hop content but very floral and drinkable. The mouthfeel has a bit of a bite but tolerable. I would definately have another if I see it on tap again. Followed it with an Elder and it can compete.
Great Double IPA! (485 characters)

On tap at the Hop Devil Grill.
Hoooo boy that's hops. Abrasive, burnt carbon hops. And some more hops on top of that... at least at the start as it was served a bit cold so some of the more subtle attributes were muted. Gets a bit smoother as it warms but hops still are too dominant to make this as classy as some other examples of the style. By comparison, I think I enjoy Racer 5 more, but I'd certainly like another crack at Racer X. (438 characters)

Draught. Light copper color. The aroma is fairly vibrant, exploding with grapefruity, almost spicy hops, along with a touch of toffee from the malt. An extreme punch of hop flavor. The perfect combination of sweet caramel and toffee laden malt underneath an onslaught of diverse hop flavors. Nice, thick, coating texture. Bear Republic knows their hops. One of the best Double IPAs Ive had in a long time. (409 characters)

Beautiful tawny ale with a huge hop bouquet that hits you from a long distance. Grapefruit and christmas tree hits the nose til the last drop. On the tongue this beer is hugely bitter, and only in my double IPA heyday could I say this beer was anything less. Punishingly bitter, now that I have had a hop vacation. Super juicy citrus hop flavor. Juicy and mouth watering, mouth puckering heaven. And yet late in the taste there is a great toasted maltiness that brings it all together.

Ive been waiting to have this beer for a long time. Racer 5 is a favorite of mine, and I anxiously awaited a chance to have this double. I got the chance when I recently visited the Bear Republic pub in Healdsburg. It poured mildly hazy gold to copper with a light white fluffy head. Mild grapefruit aroma with no detectable malt. Taste is a punch in the mouth grapefruit, with a nice bitter kick mid drink. It finishes with just a hint of sweetness that tastes of (call me crazy) kiwi. Slick, full mouth feel. Very drinkable. (528 characters)

This arrived as a nice deep amber color with a small head. It left minimal lace.

The smell is huge, floral, and full of hops. The taste is good too, with plenty of malt to back the bitterness. The mouthfeel is good and heavy, while the drinkability is pretty good for the substantial content. (295 characters)

GABF2004... Poured a golden color with a small and sticky off white head and light lacing on the glass. Piney and citrusy hop aroma. Taste was lightly bitter, lots of citrus fruits including tangerine and grapefruit. One of the beers I got multiple samples of at last year's GABF. (280 characters)

Had on tap at ACPH. Autumn gold in my glass, it gave off a heady fresh mown grass/roll in the hay aroma. That frothy white head lasts on top too, nice change. Surprisingly medium mouthfeel, I thought tastewise it was a bit mild. Even the alcohol didn't rear its head too much. Mellow, smooth, with a nice bed of malt, and a fluffy but not overstuffed pillow of hops on top. (373 characters)

Gained position on the outer turn with this one on 6/10/2005. 12-oz.(?) pour at the [AC]PH in a big-ass goblet.

Nice ½-inch of cumulous foam at start with only a minimal amount of stick. The hue was a cross between deep, dark orange and a light purple with just some hints of action bubbling throughout. Big hop crank on nose, though citrussy, and combined with some lemon zest, light fructose, and candy sugar. Actually, quite light on the mouth with some more malt playing through the foursome of hop ahead of it.

Very, very drinkable, but I would grab a Hercules before this. (585 characters)

Enjoyed one of the last few pints of this beauty at the Publick House last night...during the pre-party to the ABF.
Arrived a slightly-worn copper color in an oversized wine glass with almost three full fingers of fluffy off-white head...lacing was tight and stuck to the side of the glass for the duration.
Sweet malt and fruity hops are in your face at first smell.
The taste was phenomenal...so well balanced for a double.
Citrus hops w/ mainly oranges up front...caramel due to the malt keeps this one sweet, but by no means too sweet. Bitterness is there, but balanced nicely w/ the sweetness that makes this one higly drinkable. Mouthfeel is fairly thick but not sticky...carbonation is perfect. I could easily make a session out of this one, but would not know what hit me...the alcohol is so well hidden, it never really made an appearance.
Thanks to Dave (Liefman) for a chance to try this brew...one of the best doubles I've had. (945 characters)